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Amber Heard
Amber Van Ree | birth_date = | birth_place = Austin, Texas, U.S. | residence = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = Actress | years_active = 2004–present | spouse = | partner = }} }} Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She made her film debut in 2004 in the sports drama Friday Night Lights. After small roles in North Country and Alpha Dog, Heard played her first leading role in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) and appeared in The CW television show Hidden Palms (2007). Heard's breakthrough came in 2008 with roles in Never Back Down and Pineapple Express. She received the Breakthrough Award at Young Hollywood Awards. Her appearance in films such as The Informers, The Stepfather, Zombieland, and The Joneses brought her further attention. She next starred in John Carpenter's The Ward, alongside Nicolas Cage in Drive Angry, and alongside Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary, for which she won a Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. In 2014 she appeared in 3 Days to Kill, and in 2015 in Magic Mike XXL and The Danish Girl. She played Mera in the superhero films Justice League (2017) and Aquaman (2018). Early life Heard was born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of Patricia Paige (née Parsons), an internet researcher, and David Clinton Heard, a contractor. She has a sister, Whitney. She dropped out of high school, eventually earning a diploma through a home-study course. When Heard was 16, her best friend died in a car crash; Heard, who was raised Catholic, subsequently declared herself an atheist. Her then-boyfriend introduced her to the works of novelist Ayn Rand, of whom she said, "I've read all of her books. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with her ideals. All I've ever needed is myself". Career Early work Heard's earliest acting work included appearances in two music videos, Kenny Chesney's "There Goes My Life" and Eisley's "I Wasn't Prepared", small supporting roles in The WB's short-lived series Jack & Bobby (2004) and The Mountain (2004), and a guest starring role as a salesgirl in the teen drama series The O.C. (2005). She made her film debut in the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), which starred Billy Bob Thornton and was a commercial and critical success."FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS." The Miami Herald. March 29, 2004. 2D Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2011. In the next two years, she had small supporting roles in several feature films, including Drop Dead Sexy (2005), Price to Pay (2006), You Are Here (2006), and Alpha Dog (2006), and appeared in an episode of the police procedural Criminal Minds as a love interest of main character, Spencer Reid. She had more prominent film roles in the independent horror film Side FX (2005) and Niki Caro's drama North Country (2005), in which she was cast as the teenage version of the protagonist, played by Charlize Theron. Heard was next cast as the main character's love interest in The CW's teen drama Hidden Palms, which the network wanted to replace summer reruns of other series aimed for teenage audiences. To get the part, she was required to lose 25 pounds. The series premiered in the United States on May 30, 2007, to mixed to negative reviews. It was unpopular with television audiences, and the CW canceled it, airing only eight of the planned 12 episodes. "Hidden Palms" Accelerates Its Final Episodes , The City Paper, June 18, 2007 In 2007, Heard also appeared in the short movie Day 73 with Sarah, the critically panned indie drama Remember the Daze, and an episode of the Showtime series Californication. Mainstream recognition Heard gained more mainstream recognition in 2008, when she appeared in supporting roles in the Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express and the martial arts drama Never Back Down, both of which were box office successes. She also won a Breakthrough Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. Her other 2008 film releases were the critically panned Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Informers, in which she was part of an ensemble cast, and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, an unconventional slasher film in which she had one of her first leading roles. Its director, Jonathan Levine, said he had chosen Heard for the title role because "there was a certain type of beauty and a certain type of innate intelligence that Amber brought to it that is not something you find every day. Certainly, not something you would find in somebody her age. The wisdom she projects I thought was pretty remarkable." Mandy Lane had already premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, and had been initially picked for distribution by Harvey Weinstein. After a negative test screening, Weinstein dropped the film, and it was then released in the United Kingdom in 2008 by a different distributing company. It did not have a theatrical release in the United States until 2013. The Los Angeles Times stated that Heard gave her most "definitive performance to date 2013" in the film, and The Washington Post wrote that she gave a "psychologically interesting performance". In 2009, Heard had roles in the horror film The Stepfather and three comedies: ExTerminators, Zombieland, and The Joneses. In its review of the latter, Variety wrote that "she steals the show" from the film's more established star, Demi Moore. Critic James Berardinelli, despite giving the film an overall negative review, liked Heard's performance. In 2010, she starred in the romantic drama The River Why and continued her work in the horror genre in John Carpenter's The Ward. Carpenter described Heard as "very smart, very driven and very talented." She also co-produced and starred in the independent thriller And Soon the Darkness. In 2011, Heard appeared as the female lead opposite Johnny Depp in the Hunter S. Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary, which received mixed reviews and was not a commercial success. Heard's other 2011 film release was Drive Angry, a supernatural action thriller in which she was paired with Nicolas Cage. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that she "does everything that can possibly be done" with her character, a waitress who becomes entangled in an undead man's mission to save his daughter from a cult. In February 2011, she also appeared on the British television program Top Gear. Heard appeared in no new films until 2013, when she starred in the thriller Paranoia, the action-comedy Machete Kills, and the satirical drama Syrup. The latter was based on a novel by Max Barry, who called Heard "amazing" and said she "annihilated that character. In a good way." Her only film release in 2014, action-thriller 3 Days to Kill, was a box office success. Heard had roles in four films released in 2015, which led James Mottram of the British newspaper The Independent to call it a "watershed year" in her career. She had a prominent role in the comedy-drama Magic Mike XXL as a photographer who flirts with Channing Tatum's protagonist; like its predecessor, Magic Mike (2012), the film was a large box office success. Digital Spy described Heard as "a convincing girl-next-door type". Heard also had a small supporting role as a ballet dancer in Tom Hooper's historical drama The Danish Girl (2015), which premiered at the 72nd Venice Film Festival to overall positive reviews. She also starred in the independent crime thriller The Adderall Diaries alongside James Franco, Christian Slater, and Ed Harris. Indiewire gave the film a mixed review and stated that Heard was "miscast" but "displays much potential and has succeeded in a bid to be taken more seriously." Her fourth role in 2015 was opposite Christopher Walken in the musical drama One More Time; for the role, she took singing lessons and learned to play piano and guitar. International Business Times described Heard as "talented enough to share a few heartfelt moments in a character that mostly operates on the defensive." The Los Angeles Times called her performance "superb" and The Film Stage stated that Heard did an "admirable job". In addition, Heard played the female lead in the Martin Amis adaptation London Fields, which was initially scheduled to premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It was pulled from the festival roster after director Mathew Cullen sued its producers, accusing them of fraud and of using his name to promote a cut of the film he did not support. The film's stars, including Heard, had also written to the producers, objecting to the cut that was seen at press and industry screenings in Toronto. London Fields and Heard's performance received highly negative reviews, and she stated that "it was one of the most difficult movies to film and it has proven to continue to be difficult...I can't say I did her character justice." Heard played Mera, Aquaman's Atlantean queen, in the DC Comics superhero film Justice League (2017). She reprised the role in a larger capacity in Aquaman (2018). Activism Heard has raised awareness about domestic and sexual violence. Together with actors Gabourey Sidibe and Freida Pinto, she read a speech on behalf of sexual assault victim Emily Doe at Glamour Women of the Year Awards in 2016; Doe was the recipient of an award. The same year, Heard made a public service announcement about domestic violence for the #GirlGaze Project, and wrote an open letter about her experiences with Johnny Depp for the December 2016 issue of Porter magazine. Personal life Heard publicly came out at GLAAD's 25th anniversary event in 2010, but has stated, "I don't label myself one way or another—I have had successful relationships with men and now a woman. I love who I love; it's the person that matters." Of her decision to come out, she said: "I think when I became aware of my role in the media, I had to ask myself an important question 'Am I part of the problem?' And I think that when millions and millions of hard-working, taxpaying Americans are denied their rights and denied their equality you have to ask yourself what are the factors that are an epidemic problem and that's what this is." Heard was in a relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree from 2008 to 2012. She met actor Johnny Depp while filming The Rum Diary in 2011, and they began living together the following year. They were married in a private civil ceremony at their home in Los Angeles on February 3, 2015. In April 2015, Heard and Depp breached Australia's biosecurity laws when they failed to declare their two Yorkshire terriers to the Australian Customs Service when they flew by private jet into Queensland, where he was working on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Heard pleaded guilty to falsifying quarantine documents, stating that she had made a mistake due to sleep deprivation. She was placed on a one-month good behavior bond and paid a $1,000 fine for producing a false document. Heard and Depp also released a video in which they apologized for their behavior and urged people to adhere to the biosecurity laws. The Guardian called the case the "highest profile criminal quarantine case" in Australian history. Heard filed for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016. Five days later, she obtained a temporary restraining order against him, stating in her court declaration that he had been "verbally and physically abusive" throughout their relationship, with the latest incident of violence having taken place only two days before she filed for divorce. In response, Depp's lawyers alleged that she was "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse". Over the following three months, Heard's lawyers provided information to the media on other alleged incidents of violence during the relationship, and images of her injuries from one incident were published by People. A settlement was reached on August 16, 2016, and the divorce was finalized in January 2017. Heard dismissed the restraining order, and they issued a joint statement saying that their "relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm." She was awarded US$7 million, which she planned to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In April 2018, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles reported that Heard donated between $1 million and $5 million to the organization in 2017. Depp later sued Heard for US$50 million for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018, which "depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her," despite it not mentioning Depp by name. Heard has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit. Heard dated Elon Musk for about a year, until August 2017. Filmography Film Television Awards and nominations References External links * * * Category:1986 births Category:21st-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Austin, Texas Category:American atheists Category:American film actresses Category:American former Christians Category:American television actresses Category:American women activists Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:LGBT actresses Category:LGBT entertainers from the United States Category:LGBT people from Texas Category:Living people